


The Outliers

by OneAngryGinger



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Disabled Reader, Fluff, Mild Angst, Other, Social Anxiety, Suggestive language, gender neutral reader, implied self harm, more to come - Freeform, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-04-24 21:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneAngryGinger/pseuds/OneAngryGinger
Summary: Monsters were real.This was shocking to many.Even more shocking were the creatures that were... both.Not hybrids, but ones that had turned. Beings that used to be human whose souls themselves had changed to that of a monster either by infection, magic or curse.They were the outliers, fitting into neither group.And they were facinating.





	1. Introductions

When the monsters were freed and they joined society on the surface, many things changed.

  
There were people who accepted them with open arms and people who were far less enthusiastic to see them. There were rallies, protests, riots, parades, and so much more, each displaying various feelings towards monster kind. Feelings, however, were not the only things that had changed. Technology had changed, as monsters had created many things that the humans thought impossible. Magic was slowly being integrated back into human society. Structures were changed to accommodate monsters as well as humans. New idols, traditions, languages and ideas were introduced.

  
Things were changed, and continued to change, though there was one change that no one saw coming.

  
The surface monsters.

  
When the monsters emerged from below Mt. Ebbot, monsters on the surface came forwards. Creatures that had been hiding for a very long time showed themselves to the world. Things that humans had dismissed as mere fantasy were commonplace now, among the monsters. Yeits, dragons, fairies, even the Lochness monster were real and now they were all willing to give joining society a try.

  
This was shocking to many.

  
Even more shocking were the creatures that were... both.

  
Not hybrids, but ones that had turned. Beings that used to be human whose souls themselves had changed to that of a monster either by infection, magic or curse.  
They were the outliers, fitting into neither group.

  
And they were fascinating.


	2. Metal and Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The way Mettaton glorified what he was irked you.
> 
> The way he glorified what you were irked you too.
> 
> Perhaps you were in need of a more optimistic opinion.
> 
> (Underswap!Sans/Reader)

_"I'm made of Metal and magic~"_

  
You scowled, closing the magazine holding the latest interview with Mettaton in your hands and all but slamming it back down on the cafe table. How could Mettaton be so _jovial_ about what he was made of? About what _you_ were made of? How could he feel like this life was so glamorous and fabulous? There was nothing glamorous about being mangled by the front bumper of a red pickup truck going nearly 80 in a 40 zone. There was nothing glamorous about having your bloody, bruised and broken body practically _scraped_ off of said front bumper. There was _absolutely_ nothing glamorous about being sent to a hospital and turned into... _this_ , to stay alive.

  
You weren't entirely metal and magic, there was some flesh and bone left, but not much. You had hardly felt human anymore _before_ you learnt of the consequences of mixing _metal and magic_ with a human body and soul.

 

Well, it _used_ to be a human soul.

  
Now it was something else.

  
You hated Mettaton. You hated him with every cell and circuit in your mostly metallic body. He simply made your blood, and oil, boil.

  
"Yeah, I'm not a very big fan of Mettaton either. Have you ever heard music by Napstaton? Soooo much better!"

  
Your head snapped up and to the side to look for the somewhat deep, yet still upbeat voice you just heard.

  
Your eyes met a monster, clad in mostly blue, looking at you with a grin on his face. He was a skeleton of short stature, though somehow you felt like he could easily throw you, despite the entire ordeal of _metal and magic._

  
You scowled again, just thinking of it.

  
"Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you! I thought you just looked lonely and wanted to come over and talk to you! I always find that a nice talk with a friend... or well, friendly stranger always lifts my spirits!" He apologized, looking somewhat downcast.

You had to admit, his optimism was oddly infectious. You suddenly felt bad, looking at this cheery skeleton apologizing for something he didn't do.

  
You cleared your throat and began to speak.

  
"No no... It was nothing you did. I was just thinking about something. I didn't mean to give you a nasty look." You said sheepishly, a bit embarrassed for seeming so rude.

  
"Oh! That's alright! You didn't mean it!" He replied, downcast look immediately disappearing from his somehow plump skeletal face, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

  
The sudden change in emotion was somewhat jarring and you found yourself rather flustered, "Umm... sure." you had said, and the small skeleton wasted no time in sitting across from you.

  
"I'm Blue! Whats your name?"

  
You told him your name and he held out his hand to shake. You paused for a moment. You didn't like shaking hands. Your right hand was one of your less organic ones and it tended to have a rather _intense_ grip, as well as bringing a lot of unwanted and probing questions... but you couldn't leave him hanging. Not with such a uniquely pure smile on his face like that.

  
You reached out and shook his hand.

  
"Oh wow! Where did you get that armour?!" He practically gushed.

  
You were stunned. You had never gotten that reaction before.

  
"This.... isn't armour... It's um... my hand." You awkwardly told him.

  
"But its made of metal!" He shot back, still looking dazzled

  
"It's ahh... kind of a prosthetic? I got in an accident a while back and..."

  
You had no idea why you were indulging him so much. You normally went quiet or snapped or just got up and left. It was so strange, but something about him made you want to open up. Maybe is was his smile, or his seemingly completely pitiless interest or perhaps is was because you found him rather cute, in an odd way, but you simply couldn't resist.

  
"I had most of my body replaced with metal... and magic...." you trailed off.

  
"Just like Napstaton! How cool! Its like permanent armour!" He nearly squealed, drawing some onlookers gazes towards your table.

  
You blushed. You weren't used to praise like this. You were only used to condolences, pity and sometimes downright hatred.

  
It was...

  
nice.

  
"I... I guess it kind of is." You agreed, barely noticing the smile that crept onto your face.

  
"Oh man! You should hang out with my friend Undyne and me sometime! She knows a lot about things like this! I'd bet she'd think it was _so cool!_ Can I have your number? I'd love for us to be friends!"  
He was talking at a million miles a minute and you didn't entirely mind. You gave him your number before he left, telling you that he had some sort of training today.

  
You looked down at your arm and smiled.

  
Maybe being made of metal and magic isn't so bad.


	3. A Kind Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge's morning jog was cut short when he ran into someone.  
> Normally he wouldn't care, but then again, normally people's faces don't start smoking.
> 
> (UnderFell!Papyrus/Reader)

For most people, today would have been unbearably sweltering.

  
Luckily for Edge, temperature wasn't a very sensitive sensation for skeleton monsters.

  
The heat meant less people on the street and less people on the street meant more space for him. His daily jog tended to be disrupted by random pedestrians getting in his way so he was more than content with the current temperature.

  
His running shoe clad feet smacked rhythmically against the sidewalk as he moved, making record time. Humans were such irritating obstructions to him that they even affected his speed. He was glad to be rid of them, for at least a moment.

  
Or at least, he was rid of them before turning a corner and running face first into one.

  
The human hit the ground hard and normally Edge would have simply left them there, but this one caught his attention. There were two reasons for this. One, this human's clothing was rather odd. Black boots donned their legs along with a pair of black leggings. Their torso donned a turtle neck and long gloves clung to their arms. To top it all off, they wore a black, veiled sunhat that had been knocked off of their head by the collision. Every item they wore was black black black. The second thing that caught his attention was the immediate hissing and small yelps that poured from the human's lips as their hands swiftly covered their face. What looked to be smoke or steam seeped out from between their fingers.

  
This was... odd, to say the least. Edge knew enough about humans to know that most of them wore as little clothes as possible on days like these, and that a mere fall wouldn't cause them this much pain. Most of all he _certainly_ knew that _smoke_ didn't come from their faces.

 

Their whimpers caused him to feel a familiar and _annoying_ rise of guilt in his chest. He huffed and squatted down in front of the human.

  
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" He gruffly muttered, avoiding looking straight at them.

  
The answer he received was not what he was expecting.

  
"My- My hat... _Please_..." They stuttered out, pain laced into their voice.

  
Edge was stunned. So much so that, without question, he retrieved the head ware and placed it upon their head.

  
Their hands slowly dropped from their face and they peered up at him.

  
Two ruby red orbs met his gaze.

  
He gulped, a blush rising to his cheeks. Their eyes were so...

  
"PRETTY...." He quietly murmured, before snapping out of his stupor.

  
He shook his head, willing his blush down to look at them. He took in their face and was greeted with ashy skin and a concerningly large burn wound covering the surface.  
He cleared his throat.

  
"I WAS TOLD THAT HUMANS COULD RECEIVE BURNS FROM THE SUN, BUT THIS SEEMS EXCESSIVE."

  
Despite the painful looking burn, they laughed.

  
"I'm not quite a human anymore I'm afraid. Unfortunately for me, this is the regular for sun exposure." They smiled brilliantly, two pearly fangs peeking out between their lips, startling Edge. From what he could remember, humans didn't have fangs.

  
The creature in front of him winced, the smile contorting the burns painfully. They readjusted the veil on their hat to be sure it covered their face before moving to get up. Before Edge could even think, he found himself sticking out his hand in assistance. It was an uncharacteristic gesture for him and he wasn't entirely sure why he was doing it, but it just felt like the right thing to do.  
He was curious about this creature in front of him. It mostly looked like a human, but at this point it obviously wasn't. Edge couldn't help it as he guided them to a bench nearby, against a building wall in a nice spot of shade.

  
He had to know more about them.

  
"YOUR FACE... WILL IT BE ALRIGHT? IT LOOKS QUITE BAD." Edge commented, earning another laugh from the creature in front of him.

  
"I'll be alright. It's already beginning to heal." They replied. They were right. The burn was healing. Incredibly quickly too. It looked as if he was watching a human's healing cycle in a time lapse.

  
"WHAT... _ARE_ YOU?" He questioned, not one for beating around the bush

  
"You know, its more polite to ask 'Who are you'" They replied, chuckling.

  
They stuck out their hand and offered their name, to which Edge gave his in response. He took their hand to shake, noting that, though skeletons didn't feel heat very strongly, there was a distinct coldness creeping through the fabric of their glove.

  
"As for what I am, humans refer to my kind as vampires, the classier undead." They told him, another smile spreading across their lips.

  
It was a nice smile, Edge had noticed. The fangs added a spark of danger to it, making it far more interesting than a regular human's smile.

  
"I'd like to thank you." They suddenly said, catching Edge, once again, by surprise.

  
"FOR WHAT?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice. For knocking them over? For causing a large burn across their face?

  
"For making sure I was okay. It was very courteous. You really are a kind monster, aren't you? Oh, and by the way, what was that about being pretty?"

  
His blush came back in full force, the only sounds falling from him being incredulous stutters.


	4. Bubble Bubble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your regular costumer returns  
> (SwapFell!Papyrus/Reader)
> 
> (Alternative title is 'Pussy Put His Ass To Sleep Now He Callin Me Niquil')

The bell above the door let out a loud ring.

 

"Welcome to The Broken Vial. How can I help you toda- Oh. Hey Mutt."

 

The familiar purple hooded skeleton peeked his head through the front door of your potion shop, taking a look to see if there was anyone already inside. It was an odd ritual that he did, but you never questioned it, you had plenty of odd customers come in.

 

One he was sure that the store was empty, he stepped in, letting the door swing shut behind him, only then did he finally address you.

 

"Hey to you too, I must say you look  _ enchanting _ today." He drawled, swiftly shoving his hands in his hoodie's pockets and adopting a more relaxed posture. He was rather easy to read, despite the fact that you were sure that he tried his best not to be. You could tell how stressed he got walking around in the streets alone, or with someone, or just in general. His stress was likely one of the main reasons he was here so often.

 

Sleeping potions.

 

You rolled your eyes at his pun rich compliment and scoffed, "You tell one skeleton you're a witch and you never hear the end of it."

 

"Hey," he chuckled fingering a potion bottle on one of the many shelves in the store, "Just because it's a pun, doesn't mean it isn't true."

 

He put the bottle down and moseyed over to your counter to sit on one of the bar stools in front of it, slouching down and resting his skull in his hands.

 

"You're here for the usual I take it?" You asked, gathering a few bottles from beneath the counter.

 

"Yup," He replied lazily gazing at you, "Noticed that ya didn't have any on the shelves."

 

"That's cause I ran out of lavender and valerian root." you replied, turning and placing the bottles next to the alchemy station behind your counter, "I just received my shipment today and haven't had a chance to brew any knock out potions so you're gonna have to wait while I make some."

 

"That's fine," he drawled with a smirk in his voice, "I love watching you  _ work your magic. _ "

 

You rolled your eyes, pulling out various jars of chamomile, valerian root, lavender, mint and a few other less mundane ingredients before setting off to work.

 

"Your lines need work man." You snorted, placing a pot of water on a burner next to your alchemy station and setting it to boil.

 

" _ Pshhh _ , no they don't. Here's a good one. Is that a wand in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

 

You could almost feel him leaning even further forwards with a dumb grin on his skeletal face.

 

" _ Boooo _ ." You griped, setting your herbs in a mesh bag and tossing the bag in the boiling water, "I don't even have anything in my pockets."

 

"I'm not hearing a 'yes and'." He shot back, "Just a lot of 'no buts'. Though I am enjoying staring at your's."

 

"You're gonna be staring at the bottom of my boot in a minute." You snarked, the empty threat having no effect on him as you poured the brew into your concentrator and lighting the bunsen burner underneath it with a small spark of fire magic, "Besides, I'm sure you can do better than that." 

 

You hear him go quiet for a minute as the concentrated herbal mixture drips into the magical ingredients that you put in the potion vile. You could tell he was thinking on what to say next and you felt a small stab of pride at rendering him silent for even just a moment. He was usually constantly on his feet when it came to banter and running his mouth.

 

He broke his silence.

 

"Are you sure you've been giving me sleeping potions and not love potions."

 

"Ha.  _ Lust _ maybe. Try again."

 

"You cast a spell on me?"

 

"Heard it before. Next."

 

"Bubble bubble, toil and trouble, damn, you make my heart burn and my pants bubble."

 

"That’s more creative but it sounds like something you should consult your primary physician about. Any more?"

 

He stopped again for a moment as you shoved a cork in the finished potion and grabbed a label, sticking it to the side of the bottle. You turned, holding the brew and looking at him as he appeared to be thinking on it again.

 

" _ Here, _ " You said, placing the bottle on the counter next to him and standing up straight, "Let me show you how it's done."

 

You leant forwards, a predatory smile coming across your features as you stuck out your hand and held his chin up with your finger.

 

" _ When I'm done with you _ ," You began, looking into his eyes sockets as a bead of sweat trailed down the side of his skull, " _ You're not gonna need those sleeping potions. _ "

 

He gulped.


	5. Coping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot of ways to deal with public anxiety, but yours probably wasn't the best.
> 
> But hey, there are plenty of people willing to teach you more!
> 
> (UnderSwap!Papyrus/Reader)
> 
> _______________________  
> If you like undertale fics, why not try this one?
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/14196420/chapters/32723733
> 
> It actually has a pretty well timed update schedule, unlike mine!

It was so _loud_. 

 

People surrounded you and the room was growing suffocating with all the presences and noises. 

 

" _I'm never going to the market on sale day again..._ " You muttered to yourself, knowing full well that the last eight times you made that vow, you had broken it. Money was tight and getting a job being.... who you were, was difficult to say the least. 

 

Very few humans wanted to hire a monster and very few monsters wanted to hire a human.

 

Then there was you, who was practically _both_. 

 

So time and time again you would sacrifice a sliver of your sanity to get a good deal on produce only to return home and spend the rest of the day crying, dissociating or a strange mixture of both. You just couldn't handle all of the people and the damn noise. It felt like static in your brain and made it hard to think. You could feel yourself starting to drift away, lost in the sheer amount of stimulus around you. 

 

It suddenly became hard to breathe. 

 

The room was growing hot.

 

Adrenaline started to course through your veins. 

 

You needed to ground yourself. 

 

Your right hand lifted to your opposite arm and grasped on a loose end of one of the bandages wrapped around it. 

 

You tugged.

 

The bandages constricted on your arm and with it came a minor pain.

 

That's two vows broken in one day. 

 

You had promised yourself that you'd stop doing this. It was no secret that mummys have very sensitive skin and that pulling their bandages hurt them, but you just needed something to pull you out of your own head. Something to bring you back. 

 

You tugged again. 

 

It hurt, just like last time but you kept at it, pulling on your bandages and using the pain to keep yourself present.

 

You nearly screamed when a bony hand gripped the wrist of your right arm and halted your motion.

 

"Hey, I'm not sure _why_ you're doing that but you should really stop." A strange and raspy voice chided.

 

You followed the hand on your wrist to an arm clad in an orange hoodie, you followed the hoodie to a skeletal face. 

 

You met his gaze. 

 

He looked into your eyes and his face seemed to melt into realisation. He let go of your wrist and took a small step back, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

 

"Coping mechanism, huh?" He asked and your eyes widened, how could he have known that? 

 

"I guess I'm not the only monster that gets nervous in public. That's not a really good way to deal with it though." He chucked tiredly.

 

There was no teasing in his tone, despite the dry chuckle.

 

You stayed quiet and looked at him, trying to figure out his angle. 

 

"Here," he said, gently reaching out and offering his hand, "let me help you find some place quieter."

 

You didn’t know why, but you took it.

______

 

That's how you found yourself sitting in the food court with a skeleton. You learnt that his name was Papyrus, but he went by Stretch. He seemed like a very nice guy. He took you away from all the noise and even bought you a bottle of water. Now he was sitting here across from you and chatting with you, and you were beginning to calm down.

 

"Stretch.... how did you know that i was.... freaking out?" You asked him, cocking your head to the side. 

 

"You can say 'having an anxiety attack', you know. I knew because I've seen that same face that you were making in the mirror quite a few times before." He remarked, resting his skull in one hand. 

 

"How do you... ya know... deal with it?" You questioned further. He seemed so calm when he found you in the middle of the busy market, and didn't lose his composure when he brought you here.

 

"Various ways," he began, once again reaching inside his pocket, but this time bringing it out clasping a brightly shining stone, "keeping something to fiddle with really helps me, hence ol rocky here. A lot of people ask why my hands are in my pockets all the time. Here's the reason."

 

"That's..... actually really smart," you replied, " Got anything else?"

 

He placed the rock back in his pocket, taking a moment to sit up straighter and look you over. 

 

"A metric fuck load of weed, but I wouldn't suggest that for you. Those bandages look fairly flammable."

 

You were happy for the bandages covering your face because you flushed in shame, remembering your past disasters with scented candles. It took a long time for the burns wounds to heal. 

 

"Other than that, I'd say that staying with someone you trust is one of the best ways to keep yourself calm. There are tons of ways to stay calm that aren't tugging on bandages. Frankly, I'd recommend not tugging on things that are wrapped around you, no matter what the reason." He explained. 

 

You were about to thank him for all of the good ideas, but he cut you off before you could speak. 

 

"Unless, of course, that thing wrapped around you is _me_." He said with a skeletal wink. 

 

You were just taking a sip of your water when he said this and you immediately choked on it. You coughed and sputtered as your entire face flushed bright red. He laughed out loud and stood up, rounding the table and firmly patting your back. 

 

"Don’t go dying on me now, darling, we still have to go out and finish getting your groceries."

 

 

 

 


End file.
